Day 6 - Elaborating on The List

Okay, so a little elaboration. Here are the things on the list that matter the most to me right now:

• Getting out of debt
• Getting my two wayward offspring back into my circle
• Getting married to Marc

Next level priority are the following:

• Traveling internationally (which requires getting a passport - something I've never done before)
• Getting rich

Everything after that, I think, is just "stuff" in my mind. Nice-to-haves that I intend to experience but they're lower on the list. I do need to add some things to the list such as learning French (hah! thanks for the reminder, Rose!) and I suppose, if I am marrying a German man, I should learn some Deutsch as well. After all, I'll need to know a few retorts when he curses at me in German after I've given him the evil eye for leaving the toilet seat up. It's only right, don't you think?

Notes For My Goals

Getting out of debt - what am I doing about this?

• I down-sized my home and made myself an asset to home sellers. Specifically, I am renting a home from someone who is selling her condo. On the plus side, I pay half the rent one would expect for this home. The minus? My home isn't permanent... but to save that much rent, this is worth it.
• I do not have a car payment (or a car insurance payment) - a perk of living in a big city.
• I have given myself a fixed, weekly allowance and I challenge myself each week to come in under budget. 95% of the time, I spend significantly less.
• I pay all of my bills on time (this sounds like a no-brainer but, after a lifetime of being perpetually late with my bill payments, this is a big deal to me).
• I've built saving money into my budget. Hallelujah!

I'm still thinking about what to do regarding how to put getting my kids back into my life into motion. This is hugely important. It's difficult to come up with a plan for this one when they won't talk to me. I'm thinking, for starters, I might give them each a gift and some green backs delivered through their older brother. Bribery? Maybe a little but you know what? If it works, I'll give it a go. Call me shallow; I really do not care. I just want my kids back in my life.

Marrying Marc. Well, in some ways, this one's the easiest. I want to marry Marc; Marc wants to marry me. And in others, this one's difficult. Since he's from Germany, we have to go through the K-1 (fiance) visa process. In order to do THAT, he absolutely must visit me at least once. There's a lot more to this one than meets the eye. I'd love to go there but I don't have a passport yet - and I can't get one until I clear up my debt (long story that involves an attorney who requested and received a bench warrant in order to try to intimidate me into paying a bill more quickly than I could afford). Also, I'm still legally married, damn it. My not-exactly-ex-husband left the country nearly three years ago after he ruined me financially. I have no idea where he is... somewhere in England is all I know. *shudder* I recently found out that I can ask for something called a "default divorce," since he's been gone so long. I'd like to find out if I can ask for him to be responsible for at least half of the debt he left behind, even though it was all done in my name (stupid, stupid, stupid me!!!) and then? Goooooooooood riddance, loser!

I've got a lot to get done but I think I'm .... you know... on my way. I do! I think I need to give myself some deadlines though for the K-1 things. And I think tomorrow I might go shopping for some gifts for my two wayward offspring. Yes. Good idea. But for now? Sleep. It's been a long day and I need some serious rest. Good night!